Finished it last night. Definitely an awesome game, but I had some annoyances. Not the least of which was that mine had a tendency to lock up during disc accesses, like when switching levels or loading the new tonic/plasmid movies. I've got no problem blaming my aging Xbox (18+ months now), but it should be a warning to everyone to SAVE FREQUENTLY. Seems obvious right? Well you tend not to in this game, because the Vita-Pods give you a false sense of security. Remember that the pods are only respawn points. If your machine locks up or the power dies or something, you can only load what you have saved, and the game only auto-saves between levels.

Finished it last night. Definitely an awesome game, but I had some annoyances. Not the least of which was that mine had a tendency to lock up during disc accesses, like when switching levels or loading the new tonic/plasmid movies. I've got no problem blaming my aging Xbox (18+ months now), but it should be a warning to everyone to SAVE FREQUENTLY. Seems obvious right? Well you tend not to in this game, because the Vita-Pods give you a false sense of security. Remember that the pods are only respawn points. If your machine locks up or the power dies or something, you can only load what you have saved, and the game only auto-saves between levels.

quicksave FTW! so, how long would you say the game is?

Logged

Because I can,also because I don't care what you want.XBL: OriginalCeeKayWii U: CeeKay

I did about 15 hours and was pretty slow and deliberate. I only know of one single room that I didn't explore. I missed one weapon upgrade station so I think it's behind that door. I also apparently missed some audio tapes because I didn't get that achievement.

The most salient fact about BioShock is that it's different. If it doesn't sell well, perhaps it's time to abandon hope and resign ourselves to the eternal recurrence of space dungeons and World War II. Games like BioShock are what we need. They are what we deserve. This is one of the best examples of where we should go. It's silly to argue whether games are art, which doesn't matter one whit, when you can simply point to BioShock and say: "Games are this."

I played a half hour or so and I love this game. I could spend a lot of time just reading the signs, looking at the architecture and loving the water effects.

I've fought a half-dozen splicers so far and am kicking some butt with the "one-two combo". And you know what? 30 minutes in and I really hope the designers of the Resident Evil series play this game and take lots of notes. I can move and shoot. I can save anytime I want to. And this game is seriously creepy. Resident Evil 4 seems amateurish in comparison. This is how you do a suspenseful action game.

I think I'm going to be kind to the Little Sisters. I don't want to mess with the Big Daddies until I'm a lot better at this game.

I think I'm going to be kind to the Little Sisters. I don't want to mess with the Big Daddies until I'm a lot better at this game.

I think you're going to run into some issues with that logic.

Hmm... I thought that the Big Daddies would leave you alone if you didn't hurt the leetle girlies.

The do, but you want the ADAM. With ADAM you can upgrade your spells and gain access to newer ones. You're just limiting yourself big time by not getting that sweet, sweet ADAM. Now be a good ADAM addict and harvest those sisters.

I think I'm going to be kind to the Little Sisters. I don't want to mess with the Big Daddies until I'm a lot better at this game.

I think you're going to run into some issues with that logic.

Hmm... I thought that the Big Daddies would leave you alone if you didn't hurt the leetle girlies.

The do, but you want the ADAM. With ADAM you can upgrade your spells and gain access to newer ones. You're just limiting yourself big time by not getting that sweet, sweet ADAM. Now be a good ADAM addict and harvest those sisters.

Yeah, but you'll miss out on the sweet, sweet achievement if you do harvest them.

I think I'm going to be kind to the Little Sisters. I don't want to mess with the Big Daddies until I'm a lot better at this game.

I think you're going to run into some issues with that logic.

Hmm... I thought that the Big Daddies would leave you alone if you didn't hurt the leetle girlies.

The do, but you want the ADAM. With ADAM you can upgrade your spells and gain access to newer ones. You're just limiting yourself big time by not getting that sweet, sweet ADAM. Now be a good ADAM addict and harvest those sisters.

Well I can definitely tell I was on a media blackout about this game. I didn't know that. Well now I may have to hurt some girlies.

I think I'm going to be kind to the Little Sisters. I don't want to mess with the Big Daddies until I'm a lot better at this game.

I think you're going to run into some issues with that logic.

Hmm... I thought that the Big Daddies would leave you alone if you didn't hurt the leetle girlies.

The do, but you want the ADAM. With ADAM you can upgrade your spells and gain access to newer ones. You're just limiting yourself big time by not getting that sweet, sweet ADAM. Now be a good ADAM addict and harvest those sisters.

Well I can definitely tell I was on a media blackout about this game. I didn't know that. Well now I may have to hurt some girlies.

I'm pretty sure there is supposed to be an alternate way to get ADAM than killing little sisters.

I think I'm going to be kind to the Little Sisters. I don't want to mess with the Big Daddies until I'm a lot better at this game.

I think you're going to run into some issues with that logic.

Hmm... I thought that the Big Daddies would leave you alone if you didn't hurt the leetle girlies.

The do, but you want the ADAM. With ADAM you can upgrade your spells and gain access to newer ones. You're just limiting yourself big time by not getting that sweet, sweet ADAM. Now be a good ADAM addict and harvest those sisters.

Well I can definitely tell I was on a media blackout about this game. I didn't know that. Well now I may have to hurt some girlies.

Well my first encounter took me 10min to decide. The look on that child face, the argument between the other two on the benefits of either\or. Most important the look on my 2 year old face. And the fact I really did not know what the hell Adam was. I speared the Kid . I did Harvest the second one after I knew the out come. And I only died 6 times (Big dad is Fast)

I think I'm going to be kind to the Little Sisters. I don't want to mess with the Big Daddies until I'm a lot better at this game.

I think you're going to run into some issues with that logic.

Hmm... I thought that the Big Daddies would leave you alone if you didn't hurt the leetle girlies.

The do, but you want the ADAM. With ADAM you can upgrade your spells and gain access to newer ones. You're just limiting yourself big time by not getting that sweet, sweet ADAM. Now be a good ADAM addict and harvest those sisters.

Well I can definitely tell I was on a media blackout about this game. I didn't know that. Well now I may have to hurt some girlies.

I'm pretty sure there is supposed to be an alternate way to get ADAM than killing little sisters.

the 'alternate' ways is to let them live and get a much smaller amount of ADAM. you get at least some ADAM with either choice, but the reward is much higher if you take out the Big Daddy and kills his little girl...

The Big Daddy is a BITCH! Sucker is fast, hits hard and takes a lot to bring down. I have decided I'm killing every single one of them and then saving the Little Sisters. It just takes so much health and Ammo to kill one.

Yep. I've had to deal with a bunch of em...and they don't get any easier. The first few I'd wait and clear them before moving on to a new area, but now I'll take advantage of real good opportunity presenting itself.

Some of the later Splicers can be a real pain too...but I've just found a super nasty plasmid combo tonight that is just too cool.

If you must know...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Those friggin Houdinis! Hit em' with Winter Blast then Insect Swarm....instant ice cubes. You'll miss out on any loot of course, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

The Big Daddy is a BITCH! Sucker is fast, hits hard and takes a lot to bring down. I have decided I'm killing every single one of them and then saving the Little Sisters. It just takes so much health and Ammo to kill one.

The best part is that most of them have a different weapon onboard, too. Makes for fighting them a whole lot of fun.

I think I glitched one level though. I (somehow) killed 4 out of 3 Big Daddies on the level (and obviously did the thing with the little girl). The game even complained as I approached the level end point - 'you didn't get all the Big Daddies - are you sure you want to leave?'.

What's fun is if you just watch the Big Daddies do their thing with the girls. There was one where I actually watched a short little interaction between the pair before the Big D got the sister into a hidey-hole.

One AI issue I've noticed though - sometimes the Big Ds have a VERY one track mind. At one point I had a controlled turret draw 'aggro' off of me, and the Big D absolutely refused to even acknowledge I existed until the turret was destroyed.

Logged

"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."

Well my first encounter took me 10min to decide. The look on that child face, the argument between the other two on the benefits of either\or. Most important the look on my 2 year old face. And the fact I really did not know what the hell Adam was. I speared the Kid . I did Harvest the second one after I knew the out come. And I only died 6 times (Big dad is Fast)

I'm having the same dilema with the first one. I saved right before I have to make the choice, but I'm not sure if I take the doctors offer to make it worth my while or get twice the amount of Adam......

Logged

Because I can,also because I don't care what you want.XBL: OriginalCeeKayWii U: CeeKay

So I got it, of course. I didn't have anywhere near as much time to play as I thought I would in between errands, chores, miscellania, and GF duties, but I got in about 2 solid hours on the 360 version. First, the given: I love it. It's the most interesting, creepiest, coolest game I have played in a long time, and by far the best FPS style game since Half Life 2, with gameplay mechanics that appear quite a bit deeper than HL2's offerings already. As someone said earlier, this is how action/suspense/survival should be done. Resident Evil and games like that don't have crap on Bioshock. So far I just love it and cannot wait to play it pretty much all day tomorrow. I can't tell you how excited I am by the story so far!

Anyways, my few complaints center around the 360 version. The aiming is just a tad wonky, and I hate that the weapon and plasmid switching is right next to the firing buttons. Half the time, splicers come out of freaking nowhere and in my rush to shoot, I hit the change weapon button, or I frantically switch to a plasmid and end up tapping the LT too many times and wasting two electro shots when one will do-stuff like that. I also really don't like the soft auto-aim stuff. It really is just a bit too hard and a bit too clunky to aim well with the single shot weapons like the pistol-which means I take way more damage than necessary. Also, the basic floatiness of the controls just makes it tough to be exact in a game where you are so used to moving slowly slowly slowly and then find yourself under attack as splicers start howling at you and come out of the cracks in the walls. Its freaky as shit, but its a little hard to control too-I am a long time, experienced, good FPS player, yet I find myself surprisingly clunking around with the controls still after a couple hours of play.

I did try the PC demo, and just freaking loved it. It ran like a dream on my PC, and while my settings are still not quite right, it ran equally incredibly on my 1080p LCD TV. For the controls, I would absolutely 100% choose the PC version-so what I am considering now is whether or not I made the wrong choice in playing the 360 version first. I am absolutely going to play it on both platforms at some point, I am just considering getting the PC version now for my first playthrough and coming back to the 360-or, just going ahead and seeing what happens with my current game-either way, these complaints are only the most minor of issues so far!

Got in four hours yesterday. I'm taking my time playing, poking into every room I can, although I screwed up on the Medical Pavillion map and...

Spoiler for Hiden:

...didn't use the fire Plasmid to melt the ice leading to one area, although I did remember to use it on another. Then I swapped out the Plasmid for the Teleknetic one and now I don't have the heat to melt the ice

I picked up the Bioshock strategy guide but to avoid getting any spoilers I just skimmed some of the pages. The artwork in the book mimics the game and looks very nice. I don't think the better players probably need the book but I figured I'd get it for yuks later on, when I go back and play it a second time to poke into every corner.

One thing I did find in the table of contents, regarding number of levels....

Spoiler for Hiden:

... apparently there are twenty levels. Since after four hours I'm still on the second map, I figure I'm going to get a lot of gameplay for the buck out of Bioshock.

A couple of things about Bioshock that have me agreeing with all the reviews that are giving it ten out of ten, etc. One, normally I turn off music in games, I find it a distraction and adding little to gameplay. However, in Bioshock I had played for a couple of hours before I realised I still had the music enabled. The incidental music blends in so well with the game activities that it becomes part of the sensory input, rather than an unnecessary irritant.

Additionally, I usually HATE horror games, movies, etc. Yet in Bioshock I find the blood and the high creepiness level an essential part of the story and so far none of it has seemed gratuitous, even when it's literally "buckets of blood".

I'm finding the hacking mini-games still acceptable, although the harder ones are simply getting beyond my reaction abilities. I'm hoping I don't run into a wall with these and can't get through the game at all. I've already had to abandon all attempts on one safe because I just cannot beat it's minigame.

Regarding a couple of peoples comments about the linearity of gameplay... I'm not finding that to be the case. It's not like Doom3 where it was all on rails. You can wander pretty much throughout a level. Now there are events that trigger other actions that push you along into other places, but I haven't come across too many of these.

Also, I had seen some posts about the level of fighting being higher than desireable in a "System Shock" type of game. Again, I'm not finding this to be the case. You do get into some serious fights, but I find myself wandering alone quite a bit. Also unlike Doom3, there's little of the "go across a trigger, the wall opens and monsters spring out" syndrome. You get aural warnings most of the time so you can gird you loins and get psyched for the next fight. And it's good you can wait because sometimes the Spiker dialog is quite entertaining to listen to.

I've been doing really well in this game since I search everywhere, and I'm pretty good at hacking too. So, I usually amass a stockpile of ammo. Unfortunately, I'm bad at those big fights so I end up using a lot of my gathered items rather than fighting smartly. What I do like is that you can play this like a shooter. Security camera bothering you? Don't want to hack? Just blow it up.

Since I searched a lot, I found some plasmids that really help with hacking, specifically one that slows down the flow rate by a lot. I've got all my gene tonic slots filled

Alas, I inadvertently spoiled the game for myself as I looked for help on a issue after a crash (the first and only crash I've had) because someone on another forum didn't use spoiler tags properly. *grumble* Thankfully, there's more than enough character and details, along with a second ending to keep me interested.

By the way guys, there is research in the game, and it's well done. The bonuses are tangible, and well worth the effort. In fact, you'll find you have to make use of it as things get tougher.

Oh, and I think the game is pretty linear, but has many elements of exploration in areas, so you feel like it's not so linear, there's a tangible reason to go explore those nooks and crannies. You're always rewarded with loot, interesting visuals, and more story too.

Played some last night and again this morning before heading to work. Great game and gives me the creeps like SS2 did which is a good thing. Some observation:

I really hope they explain why I would walk up to a strange syringe and jab myself with it....that in the beginning turned me off.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Dr. Steinman is a crazy fuck. Reminded of the plastic surgeon in Escape from LA

Best moment in game for me in the Medical Wing. I just cleared a room and hacked the security camera . Went off to explorer some more and when I come out I am rushed by four leadhead splicers and I whip out my shotgun and mow two down. The other two ducks into the room with the seccam and it promptly calls in a secbot to help me finish them off. Pretty freaking awesome.

I was initially not fond of the hacking game, but it's growing on me. I think it would be much easier on the PC, but the 360 version isn't as bad as I initially thought. I like that it's hard. I like when I don't check ahead of my intended course, and flip a tile only to find an alarm under there, and realize that I'm royally screwed. I like getting the last piece in place just as the juice is about to hit it.

Hacking shouldn't be easy, and it isn't even required. But there's enough help available in the form of tonics, the autohackers, and the option to buyout that I enjoy the challenge.

Of course, if it gets impossibly hard, I might change my tune.

Also, really liking the medical wing. The section where

Spoiler for Hiden:

you see the silhouette of the doctor, and then the lights go out as you approach, and when the flip back on, he's gone

is fantastic. I was in a corner cowering until I worked up the nerve to push forward. Can't wait to get some more time in tonight.

I think I glitched one level though. I (somehow) killed 4 out of 3 Big Daddies on the level (and obviously did the thing with the little girl). The game even complained as I approached the level end point - 'you didn't get all the Big Daddies - are you sure you want to leave?'.

Pretty sure that the Big Daddies respawn if you don't get to the little girl in time. I was pretty pissed after I killed the first Big Daddy while dying at the exact same moment only to find that another had respawned by the time I got back to the area from the Vita Chamber.

I for one have no problem with the hacking minigame on the PC. With my two hacking powers I have equipped (one that's just slow and one that makes them 'easier'), I've yet to fail one. I've come close (usually because I have to change the flow direction immediately), but never failed. I usually clear the board first then get to work.

I like the research options. Fun and dangerous.

I put in about 6 hours yesterday on the PC version. Got the first 6 'weapons' (figured that's the best way of marking my progress) and want to dive back into the game now. Unfortunately I have to get through another day of work first.

Random tip - save your money for healing items and the like. Don't use it on ammo (unless you really need things like armor piercing bullets that instant). So far for me, the game has been pretty forthcoming on keeping me armed. Of course, on the PC version, I'm also a really damn good shot with the pistol (go go sometimes instant-kill headshots ).

And Kevin - no, I definitely got the little girl (current numbers on the level shows up when you push escape to save on the PC version - showed 4 'killed' for me). It's something I do immediately after offing the Big D. However, I have seen Big Ds without girls by their sides. I don't know if they're hiding, or just they're there for additional ambiance. But I sure as heck wasn't going to attack a Big D that didn't have a girl nearby. Not worth the obscene ammo/health pack use without one.

Logged

"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."

Destructor, according to Tom Chick on QT3, if you see a Big Daddy sans Little Girl, you can follow him around and he'll eventually call out a Little Girl from her hiding place.

Re: Hacking- so far (360 Version) I've only found one safe I would classify as hard and used an Auto-Hack to get by, it's just that I don't find the mechanic fun. I can do the stupid puzzles alright, I just find them very boring.

Game is amazing and I had to force myself to go to bed, which rarely happens with video gaming for me anymore. It also creeped me out and outright scared me a number of times (one time, especially, where I was busy looking at something and I turned around to see a baddie standing right behind me who hadn't made any kind of noise to let me know he was there). I was a huge fan of System Shock, so this is more of that game type, but set in another place and time, but that's okay because the world could use more games like System Shock.

Re: Hacking- so far (360 Version) I've only found one safe I would classify as hard and used an Auto-Hack to get by, it's just that I don't find the mechanic fun. I can do the stupid puzzles alright, I just find them very boring.

Same here. I'm on the third level, and have yet to fail a hack. I don't find it hard, just dull and boring. If I have an autohack, I'll use it. They don't present a challenge, so it just a tedious game I like to get through as quickly as possible. Maybe in later levels they will get harder and more worthwhile.

But this is just a minor complaint for an otherwise great game.

PS - Anyone else playing on hard? I usually play games on the hardest setting by default, and even on hard this game isn't. EXCEPT for the big daddies. They are tough and I have to admit taking advantage of the respawn system to take them down. I'm usually wiped of ammo by the time they drop.